Coming to America

GATES: I'M HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR.

WELCOME TO FINDING YOUR ROOTS.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE'LL MEET CONGRESSWOMAN NANCY PELOSI, NEWS ANCHOR NORAH O'DONNELL, AND FASHION DESIGNER ZAC POSEN.

THREE AMERICANS WHOSE LIVES HAVE BEEN PROFOUNDLY SHAPED BY THEIR IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS.

PELOSI: PEOPLE ASK ME, WHERE DO YOU GET SO MUCH ENERGY?

AND I SAID, I THINK IT HAS TO BE BEING ITALIAN-AMERICAN, POSEN: I BELIEVE THAT I'M HERE TODAY BECAUSE MY ANCESTORS MUST HAVE HAD SOME MAJOR RESILIENCE, SOME MAJOR JOURNEYS.

O'DONNELL: MY GRANDMOTHER HAD NO MORE THAN AN EIGHTH-GRADE EDUCATION AND I'M NOT SURE MY GRANDFATHER HAD EVEN THAT.

GATES: MM-HM O'DONNELL: BUT THEY, THEY CHANGED OUR TRAJECTORY.

GATES: TO UNCOVER THEIR ROOTS, WE'VE USED EVERY TOOL AVAILABLE, GENEALOGISTS COMBED THROUGH THE PAPER TRAIL THEIR ANCESTORS LEFT BEHIND, WHILE DNA EXPERTS UTILIZED THE LATEST ADVANCES IN GENETIC ANALYSIS TO REVEAL SECRETS HUNDREDS OF YEARS OLD.

POSEN: I MEAN THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE.

O'DONNELL: THIS IS INCREDIBLE.

WOW.

PELOSI: I DIDN'T KNOW THAT.

GATES: AND WE'VE COMPILED EVERYTHING INTO A BOOK OF LIFE.

O'DONNELL: OH MY GOSH.

GATES: A RECORD OF ALL OF OUR DISCOVERIES.

PELOSI: OH WOW!

O'DONNELL: I HAD NO IDEA.

GATES: BUT IMAGINE THIS, YOUR GRANDFATHER LIVES UNDER THE RADAR FOR 16 YEARS.

O'DONNELL: IN AMERICA.

GATES: ILLEGALLY.

O'DONNELL: WOW.

GATES: EACH OF MY GUESTS DESCENDS FROM ANCESTORS WHO ARRIVED IN THE UNITED STATES WITH LITTLE MORE THAN A DREAM, AND STRUGGLED MIGHTILY TO MAKE THEIR WAY.

IN THIS EPISODE, THEY ARE GOING TO RETRACE THE JOURNEYS THOSE ANCESTORS TOOK, GLIMPSE WHAT THEY LEFT BEHIND IN THEIR HOMELANDS, AND DISCOVER WHY THEIR STORIES STILL INSPIRE.

(THEME MUSIC PLAYS).

♪ ♪ FOR CENTURIES, THE UNITED STATES HAS STOOD AS A BEACON TO THE WORLD, A WELCOMING SAFE HAVEN FOR THOSE SEEKING RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL FREEDOM, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, AND THE DREAM OF A BETTER LIFE FOR THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR GRANDCHILDREN.

NORAH O'DONNELL, THE EVENING ANCHOR OF CBS NEWS, IS THE LIVING EMBODIMENT OF THAT DREAM.

O'DONNELL: GOOD EVENING, THANK YOU SO MUCH... GATES: HER MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS WERE IMPOVERISHED IRISH IMMIGRANTS, SHE GREW UP HEARING STORIES ABOUT HOW THEY STRUGGLED JUST TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE.

AND WHEN THE TIME CAME FOR NORAH TO GO TO COLLEGE, SHE KNEW THAT SHE WAS BLAZING A TRAIL... O'DONNELL: I CAN REMEMBER GOING TO TARGET TO GET A COMFORTER, YOU KNOW, FOR MY DORM ROOM.

AND GET, YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE ANYBODY GETS READY TO MAKE THEIR DORM ROOM ALL SPECIAL AND I CAN REMEMBER MY MOTHER BREAKING DOWN CRYING IN TARGET AND JUST SAYING, "I NEVER HAD THIS.

NOBODY IN YOUR FAMILY, YOU KNOW, HAD THESE KINDS OF THINGS.

YOU DON'T REALIZE HOW LUCKY YOU ARE.

YOU DON'T REALIZE", YOU KNOW?

AND I KIND OF "MOM, WE'RE IN TARGET.

WE'RE BUYING A COMFORTER", YOU KNOW.

(LAUGHS).

AND MY MOM TALKED ABOUT JUST HOW LUCKY YOU ARE TO HAVE NEW THINGS AND BE GOING TO A UNIVERSITY.

LIKE DON'T EVER TAKE THAT FOR, FOR GRANTED.

GATES: NORAH HEEDED HER MOTHER'S ADVICE TO A TEE.

SHE ARRIVED AT COLLEGE GRATEFUL FOR HOW FAR SHE'D COME, BUT DETERMINED TO GO FURTHER.

HER AMBITIONS WOULD EVENTUALLY FOCUS ON SOMETHING THAT HAD FASCINATED HER SINCE CHILDHOOD: JOURNALISM.

O'DONNELL: WE ALWAYS FOLLOWED THE NEWS.

GATES: MM-HMM.

O'DONNELL: MY MOTHER WOULD READ THE PAPER FRONT TO BACK AND SOMETIMES, IF IT WAS A BUSY WEEK, THE NEWSPAPERS WOULD PILE UP ON, ON THE DINING ROOM TABLE.

AS I GOT OLDER AND WE WERE TEENAGERS, THERE WOULD BE A LOT OF NEWSPAPERS, AND I WOULD SAY MOM, THIS IS EMBARRASSING.

IT'S TIME TO THROW AWAY THE NEWSPAPERS, BUT INFORMATION MATTERED IN OUR HOUSE.

AND I THINK THAT'S PARTLY WHAT LED ME TO BEING A JOURNALIST.

GATES: OF COURSE WANTING TO BE A JOURNALIST IS ONE THING, ACTUALLY BECOMING ONE IS QUITE ANOTHER.

NORAH STILL RECALLS THE IMMENSE EFFORT SHE MADE TO GET HER FIRST PAYING JOB IN THE BUSINESS: AS A PRINT REPORTER AT ROLL CALL, A WASHINGTON DC NEWSPAPER...

IT'S A STORY THAT FOR NORAH, BRINGS TO MIND THE SPIRIT OF HER ANCESTORS.

O'DONNELL: I GOT AN INTERVIEW AND I REMEMBER SHOWING UP AT THE FRONT DESK AT THE ROLL CALL AND I SAID HI, I'M HERE TO MEET WITH SUSAN GLASSER, THE EDITOR.

I HAVE AN INTERVIEW, AND THE RECEPTIONIST SAID SHE'S NOT HERE TODAY, AND I SAID NO, BUT I HAVE AN INTERVIEW WITH HER FOR A JOB.

I SAID, SHE WAS, I DON'T, SHE'S NOT IN TODAY AND I THINK SHE MIGHT BE OUT SICK, BUT SHE'S NOT HERE AND I SAID BUT I HAVE AN INTERVIEW WITH HER.

(LAUGHS).

AND SHE SAID MA'AM, I'M SORRY.

I CAN'T HELP YOU.

YOU'RE JUST GOING TO HAVE TO COME BACK AND I REMEMBER TURNING AND THINKING, LIKE, AND HERE I HAD GOTTEN ALL DRESSED UP.

GATES: MM-HMM.

O'DONNELL: AND I THOUGHT, "I'M NOT GOING TO LET THIS GO."

GATES: MM-HMM.

O'DONNELL: I'M JUST GOING TO KEEP CALLING HER.

AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT PERSONALLY.

GATES: MM-HMM.

O'DONNELL: AND I'M GOING TO GET THAT JOB AND I DID, AND I KEPT CALLING AND SHE DIDN'T RETURN MY PHONE CALL, AND THEN I RAN INTO HER SOMEWHERE IN WASHINGTON AND SHE SAID OH YEAH.

COME BY AND SEE ME TOMORROW AND I GOT THE JOB.

GATES: BUT WHERE DO YOU GET THAT FROM?

SOME PEOPLE WOULD HAVE BEEN CRUSHED.

THEY DON'T WANT ME.

O'DONNELL: RIGHT, RIGHT.

GATES: SO YOU STALKED HER, BASICALLY, AND THEN... O'DONNELL: I DID, AND I DON'T, AND THERE WAS, AND YOU KNOW, THAT, BUT THAT'S IRISH STUBBORNNESS.

GATES: RIGHT.

O'DONNELL: AND I DIDN'T LET IT BECOME DISAPPOINTING.

I MADE IT EMBOLDEN ME.

GATES: LIKE NORAH, HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI GREW UP KEENLY AWARE OF HER IMMIGRANT ROOTS.

HER FATHER MADE HISTORY WHEN HE BECAME THE FIRST ITALIAN AMERICAN TO BE ELECTED THE MAYOR OF BALTIMORE, AND HER FAMILY WAS LIKE ROYALTY IN BALTIMORE'S LITTLE ITALY.

A FACT THAT SHAPED NANCY TO HER CORE... PELOSI: AS A CHILD, I UNDERSTOOD THAT WE HAD ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES, TO OUR NEIGHBORS, TO OUR COMMUNITY, AND TO THE CITY OF BALTIMORE.

AS I ALWAYS SAY I WAS BORN INTO A FAMILY WHO WAS, UH, DEVOUTLY CATHOLIC, UH, FIERCELY PATRIOTIC, LOVING AMERICA, PROUD OF OUR ITALIAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE, AND STAUNCHLY DEMOCRATIC.

(LAUGHS).

GATES: THOUGH HER FATHER CLEARLY INSPIRED HER, NANCY DIDN'T INITIALLY FOLLOW IN HIS FOOTSTEPS.

INSTEAD, SHE MARRIED HER COLLEGE SWEETHEART, MOVED TO CALIFORNIA, AND HAD FIVE CHILDREN, IN SIX YEARS!

HER TRANSITION FROM HOMEMAKER TO THE HALLS OF POWER BEGAN IN 1976, WHEN SHE VOLUNTEERED TO WORK ON THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR JERRY BROWN, THEN A RISING STAR IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

NANCY HELPED BROWN WIN THE PRIMARY BACK IN HER HOME STATE OF MARYLAND, LAUNCHING HER OWN CAREER IN THE PROCESS.

PELOSI: WE HAD A GRASSROOTS OPERATION.

UH, MY FATHER, THEY'RE ALL WILLING TO HELP HIM IN MARYLAND.

SO, HE CAME TO MARYLAND, AND HE WAS SPECTACULAR, DREW ENORMOUS CROWDS ALL OVER THE STATE, AND, AND WON.

GATES: THAT'S AMAZING.

PELOSI: AND WON.

AND WHEN WE WENT BACK TO CALIFORNIA, A FEW DAYS AFTER THE ELECTION, HAD A GREAT, BIG EVENT WELCOMING HIM BACK, HE SAID, "NANCY PELOSI WAS THE POLITICAL ARCHITECT OF MY MARYLAND VICTORY."

GATES: WOW.

THAT'S, THAT'S PRETTY COOL.

PELOSI: OH, YEAH.

(LAUGHS).

I MADE IT DIFFERENT.

GATES: I MEAN, DID YOU THINK WHEN YOU FIRST GOT IN HIS CAMPAIGN THAT THIS WOULD LEAD... PELOSI: NO.

GATES: THE WAY IT DID?

PELOSI: NO, NOT AT ALL.

I'M BASICALLY A VERY SHY PERSON.

I NEVER SAW MYSELF IN THE LIMELIGHT, BUT I LOVED PROMOTING OTHER PEOPLE, AND I'M AN ORGANIZER.

I LOVE TO ORGANIZE, BUT I NEVER THOUGHT OF MYSELF IN THE SPOTLIGHT.

GATES: THOUGH SHE MAY NOT HAVE SOUGHT IT, THE SPOTLIGHT EVENTUALLY SOUGHT NANCY.

AFTER SPENDING MORE THAN A DECADE WORKING FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, SHE WAS OFFERED THE CHANCE TO RUN FOR CONGRESS.

AND WHILE SHE INITIALLY HESITATED, HER FAMILY SPURRED HER ON, ENCOURAGING HER TO EMBRACE THE CAREER PATH THAT HAD BEEN CHARTERED BY HER FATHER, BUT WITH A VERY MODERN TWIST... PELOSI: SO, I CHECKED WITH MY DAUGHTER ALEXANDRA, WHO WAS THE YOUNGEST.

SHE WAS 16, SHE WOULD BE A SENIOR.

SO, I WENT TO ALEXANDRA, SAID, ALEXANDRA, MOMMY HAS A CHANCE TO RUN FOR CONGRESS, BUT YOU'LL BE HOME, ANY ANSWER IS FINE, I CAN BE HERE WITH YOU, OR I COULD RUN FOR CONGRESS.

I'LL BE GONE, LIKE, THREE NIGHTS A WEEK, I'M-DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I'LL WIN... GATES: RIGHT.

PELOSI: BUT A-ANY ANSWER IS FINE.

SHE SAID, MOTHER, GET A LIFE.

GATES: SHE DID?

PELOSI: AND I HAD NEVER HEARD THAT EXPRESSION BEFORE.

THAT WAS A LONG TIME AGO.

GATES: YEAH.

PELOSI: AND THEN SHE SAID, WHAT TEENAGE GIRL WOULD NOT WANT HER MOTHER GONE THREE NIGHTS A WEEK?

GATES: MY THIRD GUEST IS SUPERSTAR FASHION DESIGNER ZAC POSEN.

ZAC GREW UP KNOWING THAT HIS ANCESTORS WERE JEWISH IMMIGRANTS FROM EASTERN EUROPE, BUT NOT MUCH MORE THAN THAT.

AND HE KNEW ALMOST NOTHING ABOUT THE WORLD THEY CAME FROM.

THE SHAPING FORCE IN HIS LIFE WAS THE WORLD THAT HE FOUND IN THE PLACE WHERE HE WAS RAISED: NEW YORK CITY, IN THE 1980S.

POSEN: I GREW UP IN A HOUSE THAT WAS A LOFT IN SOHO.

MY PARENTS MOVED THERE IN THE EARLY '70S.

AND THE FASHION BUG STARTED TO HIT.

I THINK PARTIALLY NEIGHBORHOOD, THERE WERE LOTS OF FASHION STORES OPENING IN SOHO.

GATES: MM-HMM.

POSEN: AND YOU HAD SAINT MARKS PLACE.

I MEAN THERE WAS A TIME WHEN IT WAS MOHAWK AFTER MOHAWK AFTER MOHAWK.

I'M SURE YOU REMEMBER IN NEW YORK.

GATES: SURE.

POSEN: THAT KIND OF ABOVE SOHO WEST VILLAGE HAD ALL THE DRAG QUEENS.

I ALSO HAD LITTLE ITALY AND CHINA TOWN.

GATES: BUT EVERY DAY WAS A VISUAL FEAST FOR YOU.

POSEN: ABSOLUTELY AND I TOOK IT IN.

GATES: ZAC DID A LOT MORE THAN JUST "TAKE IN" THE CITY AROUND HIM.

HE WAS A CREATIVE FORCE FROM A VERY EARLY AGE.

BY THE TIME HE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL, ZAC WAS MAKING STRIKING OUTFITS FOR HIS FRIENDS.

AND THEN, WHILE STILL IN COLLEGE, HE DESIGNED A DRESS FOR A YOUNG ACTRESS AND THAT DRESS WOULD FOREVER CHANGE HIS LIFE... POSEN: A WRITER, DAISY GARNET FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES CALLED AND SAID, 'I WANT TO WRITE A STORY ABOUT THAT DRESS.'

I THINK MY MOM PICKED UP THE LANDLINE WITH A CORD.

AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE A THREE-PAGE PROFILE.

AT THIS POINT WORD OF MOUTH HAD SPREAD.

YOU KNOW, AMONGST THE TRENDY, TRENDSETTING YOUNG WOMEN AND FASHION PEOPLE, AND THE BUZZ WAS STARTING.

HENRI BENDEL'S, THE FAMOUS STORES FOR LAUNCHING BRANDS, FIRST LIKE A JUNIOR BUYER, THEN THE SENIOR BUYER, THEN THE FASHION DIRECTOR CAME, AND AT THAT MOMENT I PUT ON AN IMPROMPTU FASHION SHOW IN MY PARENT'S LOFT WHERE I WAS LIVING.

I WAS SLEEPING ON THE COUCH BACK FROM SCHOOL AND THEY SAID, 'WE WANT TO BUY THIS."

GATES: THIS WAS YOUR MOMENT.

POSEN: IT WAS A BIG DEAL.

GATES: AS THE BUZZ BUILT AROUND HIM, ZAC DROPPED OUT OF COLLEGE TO LAUNCH HIS OWN BUSINESS.

AND HE'S NEVER LOOKED BACK.

HE'S ENJOYED AN INCREDIBLY SUCCESSFUL CAREER AND GAINED INTERNATIONAL RENOWN.

BUT FOR ALL HE'S ACHIEVED, ZAC HASN'T MOVED FAR FROM HOME.

HE STILL LIVES IN NEW YORK, AND HE'S STILL GRATEFUL, ABOVE ALL, TO HIS PARENTS, WHO PLANTED THEIR ROOTS IN THE CITY SO LONG AGO, AND HELPED THEIR SON TO DO THE SAME.

POSEN: MY PARENTS WERE INCREDIBLY ENCOURAGING AND NURTURING OF WHATEVER MY INTERESTS WERE.

THEY NEVER PUSHED ME, YOU KNOW, TO BE A CHILD DESIGNER.

THOSE EXPECTATIONS WEREN'T THERE.

SO I THINK THAT ALL KINDS OF CREATIVE EXPRESSION, WHICH WAS IN MY OWN WORLD, WAS DEEPLY ENCOURAGED AND I TELL THAT TO SO MANY PARENTS TODAY, SAY, GET YOUR CHILDREN A HUNK OF CLAY.

IT DOESN'T COST MUCH, SOME CRAYONS, A PENCIL.

IF YOU CAN HAVE THEM AND PAPER AND LET THEM GO.

DON'T TELL THEM WHAT TO DO JUST LET THEM... SEE WHAT COMES OUT.

GATES: ON THE SURFACE, A POLITICIAN, A JOURNALIST, AND A FASHION DESIGNER MIGHT SEEM TO HAVE LITTLE IN COMMON, BUT MY GUESTS ACTUALLY SHARE A GREAT DEAL.

EACH HAS ANCESTORS WHO CROSSED THE GLOBE IN SEARCH OF A BETTER LIFE.

AND AS WE BEGAN INVESTIGATING THEIR ROOTS, IT WAS ALSO CLEAR THAT MANY OF THEIR FAMILY'S STORIES HAD BEEN LOST ON THE JOURNEY TO AMERICA.

IT WAS TIME TO RECOVER THEM.

I STARTED WITH NORAH O'DONNELL, AND HER MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER, A WOMAN NAMED MARY MONAGHAN... WE FOUND MARY ON THE PASSENGER LIST OF A SHIP THAT ARRIVED IN NEW YORK ON JANUARY 20TH, 1930.

SHE WAS ON HER OWN, 23 YEARS OLD, WITH JUST $20 IN HER POCKET TAKING A CHANCE THAT WOULD BE CELEBRATED IN HER FAMILY FOR GENERATIONS TO COME... O'DONNELL: THE STORIES I'D ALWAYS HEARD ABOUT MY GRANDMOTHER WAS THAT SHE WAS THE OLDEST OF NINE KIDS LIVING IN BELFAST, SENT TO WORK AT THE AGE OF 12, AND CONTEXT IMPORTANT, RIGHT, NORTHERN IRELAND, PROTESTANT CONTROLLED.

MY FAMILY'S CATHOLIC.

THAT THEY LIVED IN THIS CORDONED OFF AREA, OLDEST OF NINE KIDS, THAT SHE WAS VERY SMART BUT SHE HAD TO WORK.

SHE HAD TO GO SUPPORT THE FAMILY AND SO AT 12 SHE WENT EVERY DAY THROUGH BARBED WIRE TO GO TO THIS LINEN FACTORY.

HOW SHE GARNERED UP THE COURAGE TO BOARD A BOAT ALL ALONE AND SAIL ACROSS THE ATLANTIC, NO IDEA WHO'S GOING TO PICK YOU UP ON THE OTHER END.

JUST THAT IDEA, THAT TRUST THAT SOMEBODY'S GOING TO MEET YOU OR WHAT LIFE LIES AHEAD, TO ME THAT'S THE MOST INCREDIBLY COURAGEOUS THING.

GATES: THOUGH MARY ARRIVED HERE WITH ALMOST NOTHING, SHE QUICKLY BUILT A LIFE FOR HERSELF.

SHE FOUND STEADY WORK, MARRIED NORAH'S GRANDFATHER, A FELLOW IRISH IMMIGRANT NAMED EDWARD O'KANE, AND BECAME AN AMERICAN CITIZEN.

FROM THE OUTSIDE AT LEAST, IT SEEMED THAT ALL THE RISKS SHE'D TAKEN HAD PAID OFF.

BUT MARY WAS HARBORING A SECRET... COULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

NORAH, THIS IS THE TITLE CARD FOR YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S CITIZENSHIP PAPERS... O'DONNELL: IT SAYS, "MARY TERESA MONAGHAN" AND THEN IT SAYS "CANCELED."

GATES: CANCELED.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?

O'DONNELL: DOES THAT MEAN SHE WAS DENIED CITIZENSHIP?

GATES: IT MEANS THAT YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP WAS REVOKED.

DID YOU EVER HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT THIS?

O'DONNELL: NO.

GATES: ANY GUESSES AS TO WHY HER CITIZENSHIP WOULD BE REVOKED?

O'DONNELL: I HAVE NO IDEA.

NO IDEA... GATES: MARY LOST HER CITIZENSHIP BECAUSE SHE LIED WHEN SHE APPLIED FOR IT, CLAIMING THAT SHE WAS A SINGLE WOMAN, WHEN SHE WAS ACTUALLY ALREADY MARRIED TO HER HUSBAND EDWARD.

THE REASON FOR THE LIE?

ACCORDING THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, EDWARD WAS AN ILLEGAL ALIEN, AND MARY WAS WORRIED HE'D BE DEPORTED.

THIS CAME AS A SHOCK TO NORAH.

GROWING UP, SHE'D HEARD A FAMILY STORY THAT EDWARD HAD COME TO AMERICA AS A STOWAWAY ON A SHIP FROM IRELAND, AND THAT HE HAD THEN GONE TO CANADA IN ORDER TO RE-ENTER THE UNITED STATES LEGALLY.

BUT THE DETAILS OF THIS STORY HAD ALWAYS BEEN VAGUE TO SAY THE LEAST.

O'DONNELL: MY MOM SAID SHE HAS NO IDEA WHEN IT WAS.

ONLY THAT SHE WAS THINKING IT MIGHT BE AFTER THE EASTER UPRISING OR WHO KNOWS.

THIS IS, YOU KNOW, NORTHERN IRELAND AT THE TIME, YOU KNOW THERE WERE SIGNS EVERYWHERE THAT SAID NO CATHOLICS NEED APPLY.

GATES: FAMILY STORIES ARE A LITTLE BIT LIKE THE GAME OF TELEPHONE.

YOU KNOW TELEPHONE?

O'DONNELL: RIGHT.

GATES: SO LET'S SEE HOW MUCH OF THE WAY THE STORY GOT TO YOU, HOW MUCH OF THAT WAS TRUE.

COULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

THIS IS A LIST OF PASSENGERS ABOARD THE SS CARONIA, WHO SAILED FROM BELFAST ON AUGUST 23, 1924.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSCRIPTION?

O'DONNELL: "WHERE BOUND, QUEBEC.

EDWARD O'KANE, 27.

CLASS, THIRD.

COUNTRY OF INTENDED FUTURE PERMANENT RESIDENCE, CANADA."

GATES: THIS DOCUMENTS THE MOMENT YOUR GRANDFATHER EDWARD IMMIGRATED TO NORTH AMERICA.

HE SAYS HE PLANS TO STAY IN CANADA, BUT WE KNOW WITHIN THREE WEEKS HE HOPPED A TRAIN ACROSS THE BORDER TO THE UNITED STATES AND SOMEHOW AVOIDED PRESENTING THE REQUIRED PAPERWORK.

O'DONNELL: SO HE WASN'T A STOWAWAY.

HE WAS ON A TRAIN.

GATES: YEAH.

HE WAS LEGALLY ON THAT SHIP TO CANADA BUT HE CAME ILLEGALLY TO THE UNITED STATES.

O'DONNELL: THROUGH CANADA.

GATES: THROUGH CANADA.

O'DONNELL: THERE YOU GO.

GATES: BUT IMAGINE THIS, YOUR GRANDFATHER LIVES UNDER THE RADAR FOR 16 YEARS.

O'DONNELL: IN AMERICA.

GATES: ILLEGALLY.

O'DONNELL: WOW.

GATES: WE DON'T KNOW HOW EDWARD MANAGED TO GET BY FOR SO LONG AS AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT.

WE DO KNOW, HOWEVER, THAT HE WAS FINALLY GRANTED LEGAL RESIDENT STATUS IN 1943, THROUGH A PROGRAM THAT SOUGHT TO LEGITIMIZE UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS WHO WERE DEEMED UNDESERVING OF DEPORTATION.

WE ALSO LEARNED THAT MARY HAD HER OWN CITIZENSHIP RESTORED TWO YEARS LATER, COMPELLING NORAH TO CONSIDER HER ROOTS IN A NEW LIGHT.

O'DONNELL: WOW.

I THINK VERY FEW PEOPLE WOULD LOOK AT NORAH O'DONNELL ON THE CBS EVENING NEWS AND THINK HER GRANDFATHER WAS AN UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT.

GATES: MM-HMM.

O'DONNELL: BUT HE WAS.

GATES: BUT HE WAS.

O'DONNELL: HE WAS.

GATES: AND THE SYSTEM FORGAVE HIM.

O'DONNELL: AND I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE A HUGE SURPRISE TO MY FAMILY THAT MY GRANDMOTHER LIED ABOUT HER MARRIAGE STATUS IN ORDER TO PROTECT HER HUSBAND.

GATES: I CALL THAT A LOVING FIB.

O'DONNELL: YEAH, IT'S NOT A, RIGHT.

GATES: AND THE GOVERNMENT CALLED IT FRAUD AND PERJURY OR WHATEVER.

O'DONNELL: IT'S A REMINDER THAT YOU KNOW, WE ALL, WE ALL COME FROM SOMEWHERE.

AND UM, SOMETIMES WE FORGET WHERE WE CAME FROM.

GATES: OUR JOB IS TO REMEMBER WHAT YOUR ANCESTORS CHOSE TO FORGET.

O'DONNELL: YES.

IT'S AMAZING.

GATES: UNLIKE NORAH, MY SECOND GUEST, ZAC POSEN, HAD ALMOST NO KNOWLEDGE OF HIS IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS ONLY QUESTIONS.

POSEN: I WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHO I AM, WHERE I'M FROM YOU KNOW, AND MAYBE WHERE I'M GOING.

(LAUGHS).

GATES: TO FIGURE OUT WHERE ZAC CAME FROM WE FOCUSED FIRST ON HIS PATERNAL GREAT-GRANDFATHER, A MAN NAMED MEYER POSEN.

ZAC HAD HEARD THAT MEYER WAS BORN IN A JEWISH COMMUNITY IN EASTERN EUROPE, BUT THE DETAILS OF HIS STORY HAD BEEN LOST.

WE RECOVERED THEM.

REVEALING THAT IN 1906, WHEN MEYER WAS MORE THAN 30 YEARS OLD, MARRIED AND THE FATHER OF AT LEAST SEVEN CHILDREN, HE IMMIGRATED TO THE UNITED STATES FROM WHAT WAS THEN RUSSIA, SETTLED IN ST. LOUIS AND SOUGHT TO REASSEMBLE HIS FAMILY.

WITHIN THREE YEARS, ZAC'S GRANDFATHER EDWARD AND TWO OF HIS SISTERS WERE ALSO IN SAINT LOUIS...

BUT WHEN WE SEARCHED FOR THEM IN THE 1910 CENSUS, WE NOTICED SOMETHING CURIOUS.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSCRIBED SECTION?

POSEN: "POZEN, ROSIE, BOARDER, AGE 18.

POZEN, LILLIE, BOARDER, AGE 14.

POZEN, EDDIE, BOARDER, AGE 16."

GATES: THAT'S YOUR GRANDFATHER EDWARD, LISTED HERE AS EDDIE, AND HIS TWO SISTERS, ROSIE AND LILLIE.

POSEN: EDDIE, IT'S ALREADY LIKE AMERICANIZED.

GATES: YEAH.

ALREADY.

LIVING AS BOARDERS IN A HOUSEHOLD OF A MAN NAMED DAVE PEARLINE.

YOU FIND ANYTHING ABOUT THIS RECORD UNUSUAL?

POSEN: NO.

WHAT?

I DON'T.

GATES: WELL, YOUR GRANDFATHER AND HIS TWO SISTERS ARE LISTED IN THE HOUSEHOLD ALL BY THEMSELVES.

THEIR FATHER ISN'T THERE.

POSEN: RIGHT.

GATES: SO, ANY IDEA, TAKE A GUESS WHERE GREAT-GRANDFATHER MEYER MAY HAVE BEEN AT THE TIME?

POSEN: NO IDEA.

GATES: AS IT TURNS OUT, MEYER WAS BACK IN RUSSIA.

HE HAD RETURNED TO BRING TWO MORE OF HIS CHILDREN TO THE UNITED STATES, CROSSING THE ATLANTIC A SECOND TIME ON HIS OWN... HIS WIFE AND YOUNGEST CHILDREN FOLLOWED THEM OVER IN 1911.

YOU'VE GOT TO ADMIRE THAT.

POSEN: CHUTZPAH.

GATES: YEAH, AND IT TOOK ABOUT FIVE YEARS FINALLY TO BRING ALL THE FAMILY OVER AND TO REUNITE IN AMERICA.

POSEN: I THINK IT'S PRETTY FAST... GATES: YEAH.

POSEN: A PERIOD OF TIME CONSIDERING TRAVEL.

GATES: IT IS AND NO MONEY AND SYSTEMATIC.

THEY HAD A PLAN AND THEY EXECUTED IT.

POSEN: INCREDIBLE.

GATES: ZAC WONDERED WHERE EXACTLY IN RUSSIA HIS ANCESTORS HAD ORIGINATED.

THE PASSENGER LIST OF THE SHIP THAT BROUGHT MEYER TO AMERICA ON HIS FIRST TRIP CONTAINED THE ANSWER: A TOWN CALLED "SHKLOV" NOW LOCATED IN THE NATION OF BELARUS.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO THAT PART OF THE WORLD?

POSEN: I HAVEN'T BUT SOME OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MODELS IN THE WORLD COME FROM THERE.

GATES: TURN THE PAGE.

I WANT TO TAKE YOU BACK TO... POSEN: WHOA.

GATES: THAT'S YOUR FAMILY TOWN, MAN.

POSEN: NO WAY.

GATES: THAT'S SHKLOV RIGHT AROUND THE TIME YOUR FAMILY LEFT.

CAN YOU IMAGINE YOURSELF THERE?

POSEN: YEAH.

I CAN.

I HAVE AN ACTIVE IMAGINATION.

I MEAN IT'S BEAUTIFUL, THE ARCHITECTURE.

GATES: THE TOWN MAY LOOK BEAUTIFUL TO MODERN EYES, BUT IT WASN'T AN EASY PLACE FOR JEWISH PEOPLE TO LIVE.

JEWS IN THE REGION WERE FORBIDDEN TO OWN FARMLAND, AND LARGELY BARRED FROM RUSSIA'S UNIVERSITIES... AS A RESULT, MOST ENDED UP WORKING IN LOW-PAYING TRADES, AND ZAC'S ANCESTORS WERE NO EXCEPTIONS.

HIS GREAT-GRANDFATHER MEYER TRAINED TO BE A SHOEMAKER, ENROLLING IN A TRADE SCHOOL WHEN HE WAS ABOUT 17 YEARS OLD, AND ULTIMATELY BECOMING A MASTER SHOEMAKER IN 1896 WHEN HE WAS ROUGHLY 28 YEARS OLD... WHAT DO YOU THINK A LIFE OF A SHOEMAKER IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE WAS LIKE IN 1896?

POSEN: LET ME THINK, 1896, I MEAN THE ROLE OF A COBBLER OR SHOEMAKER, VERY IMPORTANT, RIGHT.

YOU HAD FILTH IN THE STREETS, NO PAVEMENT.

I MEAN I'M SURE A PAIR OF SHOES HAD TO LAST A LIFETIME.

GATES: YEAH.

AND NO SHOEMAKER, NO SHOES.

IT'S NOT LIKE THERE WAS SOME BIG FACTORY CRANKING OUT SHOES.

POSEN: NO.

AND THIS WAS COBBLED HAND, YOU KNOW, WE SEE LIKE A HAT BLOCK, IT'S SIMILAR WITH A FOOT BLOCK.

I MEAN MY DAD COLLECTS SHOE BLOCKS.

GATES: REALLY?

POSEN: OH, YEAH.

GATES: OH, THAT'S GREAT.

POSEN: THERE'S WOODEN SHOE BLOCKS EVERYWHERE SO THAT'S JUST INTERESTING.

GATES: YEAH.

I WONDER IF HE KNEW.

POSEN: I DON'T THINK SO, BUT MAYBE A COBBLER IN THE FAMILY.

GATES: MM-HM.

POSEN: UNBELIEVABLE.

GATES: MEYER MADE THE MOST OF HIS SKILLS, EARNING ENOUGH TO SUPPORT THE FAMILY THAT HE WOULD SOON TRANSPORT TO AMERICA, AND INSPIRING ZAC TO THINK ABOUT HOW HIS OWN CAREER PATH ECHOES THAT OF HIS ANCESTOR... POSEN: IT'S MOVING BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT ALLOWED THE BEGINNING OF A WHOLE FAMILY AND JOURNEY.

GATES: RIGHT.

AND AS THE TWIG WAS BENT SO GREW THE TREE.

I MEAN THIS IS PART OF YOUR HERITAGE.

POSEN: YEAH.

WELL, IT CAME BACK FULL CIRCLE.

GATES: YEAH.

BIG TIME.

BIG TIME.

POSEN: WOW.

GATES: HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL KNOWING THAT YOU ARE EXTENDING A TRADITION?

POSEN: I'M INCREDIBLY PROUD.

TO ME THE TRADITION OF MAKING CLOTHING, SHOES, IS PART OF THE HISTORY OF OUR HUMANITY.

GATES: LIKE ZAC, NANCY PELOSI IS CONTINUING A FAMILY TRADITION.

HER FATHER, THOMAS D'ALESANDRO JR WAS A CAREER POLITICIAN, WHO SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS AND AS THE MAYOR OF BALTIMORE.

BUT WHILE NANCY ADMIRES HER FATHER GREATLY, I WAS SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT SHE FEELS AN EVEN STRONGER CONNECTION TO HER MOTHER, WHO SHARES BOTH NANCY'S LEGAL BIRTH NAME, ANUNCIATA, AND HER MORE INFORMAL NAME, NANCY.

ANNUNCIATA CAME TO AMERICA FROM ITALY AS A CHILD AND, AS THE FIRST LADY OF BALTIMORE, WAS DEVOTED TO HELPING THOSE IN NEED, INCLUDING MANY NEW IMMIGRANTS LIKE HERSELF... PELOSI: SHE WAS VERY BEAUTIFUL... GATES: SHE WAS.

PELOSI: AND LOVELY... GATES: I LOVE THAT PICTURE.

PELOSI: YEAH, AND WONDERFUL MOM, AND REALLY COMMUNITY ACTIVIST.

MY BROTHER TOMMY USED TO SAY, 'CAUSE HE'S 11 YEARS OLDER THAN I AM, THAT DURING THE DEPRESSION WHEN HE WAS A LITTLE BOY, PEOPLE WOULD COME TO THE DOOR, LOOKING FOR WHAT, A JOB OR APARTMENT IN THE PROJECTS, OR SOMETHING, BED IN THE CITY HOSPITAL, WHATEVER IT IS, AND SOMETIMES THEY WERE JUST STARVING.

AND SO, HE SAID YOU NEVER KNEW WHO WAS GONNA BE AT THE TABLE SHE JUST STRETCHED THE FOOD... GATES: WOW.

PELOSI: AND HAD THEM COME IN.

GATES: MMM.

SO, YOUR SENSE OF PUBLIC SERVICE CAME FROM BOTH YOUR PARENTS, NOT... PELOSI: THAT'S RIGHT.

GATES: JUST ONE.

PELOSI: AND PEOPLE ALWAYS MAKE A FUSS ABOUT MY FATHER, AND I THINK, IT'S MORE MY MOTHER, OR AT LEAST THE SAME.

GATES: AS WE BEGAN TO RESEARCH NANCY'S MOTHER, IT BECAME CLEAR THAT PUBLIC SERVICE WASN'T HER ONLY INTEREST, SHE WAS ALSO A TALENTED ENTREPRENEUR.

THIS IS AN ARTICLE FROM "THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER," AND IT WAS PUBLISHED IN 1950.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSCRIBED SECTION?

PELOSI: "WHEN NANCY D'ALESANDRO, A BALTIMORE HOUSEWIFE, PASSED 35, SHE NOTICED THAT HER SKIN HAD LOST THE SMOOTH TEXTURE AND GLOWING APPEARANCE OF HER EARLY YOUTH.

CONCERNED ABOUT THE FACT, SHE DECIDED THAT SOMETHING MUST BE DONE ABOUT IT AND RECALLED A BEAUTY FORMULA TOLD TO HER BY HER GRANDMOTHER YEARS BEFORE.

NANCY WORKED WITH THIS FORMULA, THE BASE OF WHICH IS OLIVE OIL, UNTIL SHE HAD PERFECTED A TREATMENT THAT RESTORED YOUTH TO HER COMPLEXION..." I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS WRITTEN IN THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.

SHE TOOK GREAT PRIDE IN BEING AN INVENTOR.

GATES: YOUR MOTHER COMBINED HER TREATMENT WITH A VAPORIZER TO CREATE AN EARLY AT-HOME FACIAL THAT SHE CALLED VELVEX.

PELOSI: YES.

GATES: THAT'S AMAZING.

PELOSI: IT'S AMAZING.

GATES: IT IS, AND ON THE LEFT IS THE TRADEMARK FOR HER PRODUCT.

PELOSI: THAT'S RIGHT, BEAUTY BY VAPOR.

GATES: VELVEX WAS SUCH A HIT WITH HER FRIENDS THAT NANCY'S MOTHER BEGAN SELLING IT, AND, ACCORDING TO NANCY, SHE ATTRACTED CUSTOMERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

BUT THE GROWING BUSINESS WAS SOON CURTAILED BY NANCY'S FATHER WHO HELD MORE TRADITIONAL VIEWS ABOUT WHAT A WIFE AND MOTHER SHOULD BE DOING WITH HER TIME... PELOSI: MY FATHER WAS SUPPORTIVE, BUT YOU KNOW, HE'S AN ITALIAN-AMERICAN OF THAT ERA.

GATES: WHAT DO YOU THINK MIGHT HAVE BEEN IF YOUR MOTHER HAD HAD MORE FREEDOM TO PURSUE HER PASSION PROJECTS?

WOULD THIS HAVE DEVELOPED INTO A BIG COMPANY OR SOMETHING?

PELOSI: WELL I DON'T KNOW, SHE ALSO BOUGHT PROPERTY IN OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND AND MY FATHER MADE THEM REVERSE IT.

GATES: WHY DID HE DO THAT DO YOU THINK?

PELOSI: I DON'T KNOW I THINK IT WAS SOMETHING ABOUT INDEPENDENCE OF WOMEN DOING THINGS.

GATES: MM-HMM.

PELOSI: I DON'T KNOW, IT WAS A CULTURAL THING.

GATES: IT WAS.

PELOSI: IT WAS, IT WAS TYPICAL OF HIS ERA... GATES: IT WAS.

PELOSI: AND THERE'S SOME PEOPLE TODAY WHO ARE STILL THAT WAY.

GATES: TURNING TO HER ROOTS, WE SOON REALIZED THAT NANCY'S MOTHER WASN'T THE ONLY ASPIRATIONAL SPIRIT IN HER FAMILY, NOT BY A LONG SHOT.

NANCY'S MATERNAL GRANDFATHER, NICHOLA LOMBARDI, WAS ANOTHER.

AN ITALIAN IMMIGRANT, NICHOLA BECAME A SUCCESSFUL MACARONI MANUFACTURER IN BALTIMORE.

NANCY KNEW HIM WELL, AND CLEARLY ADORED HIM.

PELOSI: HE WAS SO BEAUTIFUL AND SO WONDERFUL, AND JUST SUCH A HAPPY PERSON, AND WELL-INTENTIONED, AND HE WAS ALWAYS TRYING TO TEACH ME ITALIAN, WHICH WOULD NEVER WORK BECAUSE EVERY TIME WE'D START TO LEARN, HE'D TAKE OUT THE MAP AND SAY THERE ARE DIFFERENT DIALECTS, AND THIS IS THIS DIALECT, AND THAT DIA-AND I LEARNED ABOUT THE DIALECT, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT ITALIAN.

(LAUGHS).

GATES: HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THAT AD BEFORE, FOR HIS MACARONI BUSINESS?

PELOSI: NO, I NEVER DID, NO, I MEAN, I'VE HEARD ABOUT HIS MACARONI BUSINESS, AND HE WAS A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMAN, A SMALL BUSINESSMAN.

GATES: COULD YOU READ THE TRANSCRIPTION IN THE BOX?

PELOSI: "WE MAKE THE BEST MACARONI, SPAGHETTI AND NOODLES.

BUY IT FRESH BY PARCEL POST."

GATES: ISN'T THAT GREAT, TO SEE THAT?

PELOSI: YEAH, IT'S GREAT, IT'S GREAT.

GATES: NANCY KNEW THAT HER GRANDFATHER HAD COME TO AMERICA AS A YOUNG MAN, BUT SHE WAS UNCLEAR ABOUT MANY OF THE DETAILS OF HIS IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE.

WE BEGAN TO UNTANGLE THEM WITH A PASSENGER MANIFEST OF A SHIP THAT ARRIVED IN NEW YORK IN JUNE OF 1912.

ON BOARD WERE NICHOLA, HIS WIFE CONCETTA, AND FOUR OF THEIR CHILDREN... PELOSI: "SS DUCA D'AOSTA," GATES: MM-HM.

PELOSI: "SAILING FROM NAPLES, NICOLA LOMBARDI, 34, PEASANT.

CONCETTA, 34, WIFE.

ISN'T IT AMAZING?

GATES: IT'S AMAZING.

PELOSI: TO BE AN IMMIGRANT IS TO BE AS COURAGEOUS AS IT COMES, TO LEAVE HOME WITHOUT THE IDEA THAT YOU MIGHT NEVER BE HOME AGAIN FOR WEDDING, A FUNERAL, OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, AND TO GO TO ANOTHER COUNTRY, UH, SO I TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN THE COURAGE THAT THEY HAD, UH, TO COME TO AMERICA AND TO TAKE A CHANCE ON AMERICA.

GATES: THE LOMBARDIS WERE, INDEED, TAKING A CHANCE.

TRAVELING ROUGHLY 4,000 MILES, TO END UP MAKING A NEW HOME IN A FOREIGN LAND.

IT WAS AN AWE-INSPIRING JOURNEY.

BUT AS WE DUG DEEPER, WE DISCOVERED THAT THIS WASN'T THE FIRST TIME THAT NANCY'S GRANDFATHER HAD DONE IT...

THIS IS ANOTHER SHIP MANIFESTO ON THIS SIDE, WITH A LIST OF PASSENGERS WHO ARRIVED AT THE PORT OF NEW YORK ON DECEMBER 8, 1901.

PELOSI: "SS COLUMBIA, SAILING FROM NAPLES, NICOLA LOMBARDI, 23, SINGLE".

GATES: YEAH.

PELOSI: "FINAL DESTINATION: NATICK, RHODE ISLAND".

GATES: YEAH.

PELOSI: UH, "WHETHER GOING TO JOIN A RELATIVE?

FATHER GIOVANNI."

GATES: YEAH, ISN'T THAT INTERESTING?

PELOSI: YEAH.

GATES: SO, HE'S HEADED TO NATICK, RHODE ISLAND, WHERE HIS FATHER, YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER GIOVANNI LOMBARDI, ALREADY LIVED.

DID YOU KNOW THAT NAME?

PELOSI: NO, NEVER KNEW IT.

HOW 'BOUT THAT?

THAT IS AMAZING.

HIS FATHER WAS HERE.

GATES: YEAH.

PELOSI: SO, HE WAS THE BREAKTHROUGH FOR ALL OF US, I DON'T KNOW WHAT ANY OF US WOULD'VE ACCOMPLISHED WITHOUT HIS TAKING THE GIANT STEP FORWARD THAT HE DID.

GATES: GIOVANNI LOMBARDI IS NANCY'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER, AND THE ORIGINAL IMMIGRANT ON THIS LINE OF HER FAMILY TREE.

HE WAS BORN IN 1854 IN FORNELLI, AN AGRICULTURAL TOWN IN SOUTHERN ITALY WHERE HE LIKELY WORKED AS A FARMER.

WITH THE REGION AROUND HIM BESET BY MOUNTING POVERTY, GIOVANNI IMMIGRATED TO THE UNITED STATES IN THE 1890S, WHEN HE WAS OVER 40 YEARS OLD, BRINGING MUCH OF HIS FAMILY WITH HIM.

IN EFFECT, GIOVANNI WAS TRADING THE HARDSHIPS OF A FARM, FOR THE HARDSHIPS OF A FACTORY.

THIS IS THE 1900 CENSUS FOR KENT COUNTY, RHODE ISLAND.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSCRIPTION?

PELOSI: "GIOVANNI LOMBARDI, HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD, 46, MILL LABORER.

ANTOINETTE, WIFE, 47, HOUSEKEEPER.

ERNESTO, SON, 17, MILL CARDER.

ELVIRA, DAUGHTER, 11, MILL SPINNER."

GATES: THESE ARE YOUR GREAT-GRANDPARENTS, GIOVANNI AND ANTONIA, LIVING IN NATICK WITH TWO OF THEIR CHILDREN.

YOUR GRANDFATHER NICOLA ISN'T HERE BECAUSE HE'S BACK IN ITALY... PELOSI: RIGHT.

GATES: AND HE WOULD JOIN THE FAMILY A YEAR LATER IN 1901.

AS YOU READ, EVERYONE BUT ANTONIA WORKS IN A MILL, INCLUDING 11-YEAR-OLD ELVIRA IT'S AMAZING.

PELOSI: THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS.

GATES: YEAH, THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS.

WHEN NICOLA LATER JOINED THEM, HE WORKED IN A MILL AS WELL.

UH, THEY WERE TEXTILE MILLS.

WOULD YOU PLEASE TURN THE PAGE?

NOW, YOU'RE LOOKING AT AN IMAGE OF THE KNIGHT MILL COMPLEX IN NATICK, AND THAT IS WHERE YOUR LOMBARDI FAMILY ACTUALLY WORKED.

PELOSI: HOW 'BOUT THAT?

GATES: MANY IMMIGRANTS LOOKED FOR JOBS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY, INCLUDING CHILDREN AND THE LAWS, YOU KNOW... PELOSI: ALLOWED THAT TO HAPPEN.

GATES: YEAH.

PELOSI: I HAD NO IDEA.

GATES: LIFE IN THE MILLS WAS HARSH.

EMPLOYEES TYPICALLY WORKED 60-HOUR WEEKS IN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT WAS BOTH LOUD AND FULL OF DANGER.

IN THE FACE OF THESE CONDITIONS, MANY IMMIGRANTS, INCLUDING NANCY'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER GIOVANNI AND HER GRANDFATHER NICOLA, ENDED UP RETURNING TO THEIR HOMELANDS.

BUT, AS WE'D SEEN, NICOLA DIDN'T REMAIN LONG BACK IN ITALY.

HE DECIDED TO MAKE A SECOND TRY IN AMERICA, AND THIS TIME, HE WOULD STAY.

IN SUM, NICOLA'S STORY IS REPRESENTATIVE OF NANCY'S ENTIRE FAMILY TREE, EVERY BRANCH OF WHICH CONTAINS PEOPLE WHO MADE A SIMILAR JOURNEY, DRAWING NANCY'S THOUGHTS TO THE WAY HER ROOTS REFLECT OUR NATION'S LARGER HISTORY.

PELOSI: WHAT I TAKE PRIDE IN, AND WHAT YOU HAVE SHOWED ME, IS NOT SO MUCH MY OWN HERITAGE, BUT THE PRIDE IN AMERICA THAT WE RECEIVED AND CHANNELED THE ENERGY, AND ENABLED SO MANY PEOPLE, UH, TO SUCCEED IN WAYS THEY MIGHT NEVER HAVE IMAGINED.

AND THAT IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE ALL HAVE TO REMEMBER.

IF EVERYBODY REMEMBERS WHO THEY ARE AND WHERE THEY CAME FROM, THEY CAN'T HELP BUT RESPECT NEWCOMERS TO AMERICA.

GATES: TURNING FROM NANCY BACK TO NORAH O'DONNELL, WE DISCOVERED ANOTHER STORY ABOUT A FAMILY'S ARDUOUS JOURNEY TO AMERICA.

IT BEGINS WITH NORAH'S PATERNAL GREAT-GRANDPARENTS: SARAH BONAR AND JOHN O'DONNELL.

WE FOUND THEM IN THE 1911 CENSUS LIVING IN SCOTLAND, BUT THEIR ROOTS LAY ELSEWHERE.

JOHN WAS AN IRISHMAN, WHO'D COME TO SCOTLAND SEEKING WORK IN THE COUNTRY'S SHALE MINES, AND SARAH WAS THE CHILD OF IRISH IMMIGRANTS WHO'D DONE THE SAME THING.

SHALE MINING WAS EXCEEDINGLY DANGEROUS.

MINERS, AND THEIR FAMILIES, WERE ALL TAKING GREAT RISKS, AND SARAH WOULD BE FORCED TO FACE THOSE RISKS HEAD ON.

RECORDS SHOW THAT WHEN SHE WAS JUST 18, SHE MARRIED ANOTHER IRISH IMMIGRANT TO SCOTLAND'S MINES, A MAN NAMED DENNIS MCCAULEY.

WITHIN A YEAR, SARAH AND DENNIS HAD A CHILD TOGETHER, BUT THEIR HAPPINESS DIDN'T LAST... O'DONNELL: "DEATHS IN THE PARISH OF UPHALL.

DENNIS MCCAULAY, SHALE MINER, OCTOBER 8, 1898.

CAUSE OF DEATH, ACCIDENTALLY KILLED BY A PIECE OF SHALE FRACTURING AND CRUSHING SKULL AND BRAINS."

OH MY GOSH.

GATES: DENNIS WAS KILLED ON THE JOB WHEN A BLOCK OF SHALE ROCK CRUSHED HIM.

HE LIVED FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES AND THEN HE DIED.

O'DONNELL: WOW.

GATES: AND YOUR GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, SARAH, WAS JUST 19 YEARS OLD.

O'DONNELL: SO, SHE HAD A BABY...AND THEN HE WAS KILLED.

GATES: THAT'S RIGHT.

O'DONNELL: WOW.

GATES: SHE SUDDENLY IS A WIDOW AND LEFT TO CARE FOR THAT INFANT.

CAN YOU IMAGINE?

O'DONNELL: NO.

GATES: WELL, HOW DO YOU THINK SHE MANAGED?

O'DONNELL: I DON'T KNOW.

I MEAN, UH, MAYBE FAMILY, OR, BUT THEY WERE, THAT'S PART OF THE UNTOLD STORY.

GATES: SARAH'S "UNTOLD STORY" WOULD PROVE REMARKABLE.

HER HUSBAND DIED WORKING FOR A COMPANY CALLED HOLMES OIL AND AS WE SEARCHED FOR RECORDS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT, WE DISCOVERED THAT SARAH WAS WISE BEYOND HER YEARS.

JUST THREE MONTHS BEFORE DENNIS DIED, A BRITISH LAW WENT INTO EFFECT THAT ALLOWED INJURED WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES TO SUE EMPLOYERS FOR INSURANCE MONEY AND PUT THE BURDEN OF PROOF ON THE EMPLOYER.

SO, IN ONE OF THE FIRST TEST CASES OF THE NEW LAW, YOUR GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, SARAH, TOOK HOLMES OIL TO COURT.

O'DONNELL: COME ON.

GATES: YEAH.

O'DONNELL: WOW.

YOU KNOW, YOU THINK ABOUT KNOWING THAT A LAW EXISTS.

SOME PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT THE PROTECTIONS EXIST, IF YOU'RE UNEDUCATED, YOU DON'T KNOW THAT PROTECTIONS EXIST FOR YOU.

SHE'S 19 AS YOU SAID, AND HAS A BABY, YOU'RE CARING FOR A BABY YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO.

THAT, THAT MAKES ME VERY PROUD OF HER.

GATES: SARAH'S CASE HINGED ON A NARROW ISSUE.

HOLMES OIL ARGUED THAT ALTHOUGH HER HUSBAND HAD INDEED DIED ON THE JOB, THE FACT THAT HE HAD EMPLOYED A TEAM TO WORK UNDER HIM, MEANT THAT HE WAS LEGALLY A "CONTRACTOR," AND NOT A "WORKMAN".

THEREFORE, THEY ARGUED, SARAH WAS ENTITLED TO NOTHING.

MEANING THAT ALL HER EFFORTS WOULD HAVE BEEN IN VAIN.

NORAH, THIS IS ANOTHER SECTION OF THE CASE FILE TRANSCRIPT.

WOULD YOU PLEASE READ THE TRANSCRIPTION?

O'DONNELL: "THE DECEASED WAS EARNING HIS DAILY BREAD AT A HIGHLY DANGEROUS OCCUPATION.

NO ONE CAN DOUBT THAT IT WAS THE INTENTION OF THE LEGISLATURE TO INCLUDE SUCH MEN AS THE DECEASED."

SHE WON.

WOW.

GATES: NOT ONLY THAT.

THIS LAW SERVED AS THE MODEL FOR ITS SUBSEQUENT AMERICAN COUNTERPARTS.

O'DONNELL: NO.

GATES: YEAH.

O'DONNELL: REALLY?

GATES: ABSOLUTELY.

O'DONNELL: FOR WORKER'S COMPENSATION?

GATES: YES.

BUSINESSES, BECAUSE OF THIS LAW, BECAME RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RISKS THAT THEY CHOSE TO TAKE AND SUBJECT THEIR WORKERS TO.

BUT SHE PLAYED AN HISTORIC, PIONEERING ROLE.

O'DONNELL: YES.

I LIKE TO HEAR THERE WERE SOME FEMALE PIONEERS.

THAT'S WONDERFUL.

GATES: SO, WHAT'S IT LIKE TO LEARN THIS?

O'DONNELL: I JUST THINK ABOUT HER COURAGE.

I THINK ABOUT HOW SHE DID THAT AT THE AGE OF 19.

GATES: YEAH.

O'DONNELL: YOU KNOW?

SARAH DIDN'T QUIT.

GATES: NO.

SHE WAS A SURVIVOR, MAN.

O'DONNELL: SHE WAS A SURVIVOR, NEVER GAVE UP.

GATES: THERE WAS ONE FINAL BEAT TO THIS STORY.

WE WONDERED HOW SARAH MET HER SECOND HUSBAND, NORAH'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER, JOHN O'DONNELL... WE FOUND A CLUE IN THE ODDEST OF PLACES, HER FIRST HUSBAND'S DEATH RECORD... O'DONNELL: OH, LOOK AT THIS.

GATES: MM-HMM.

O'DONNELL: SO, IT SAYS INFORMANT, JOHN O'DONNELL, NEIGHBOR, PRESENT AT THE TIME OF DEATH.

SO, THEY WERE FRIENDS BEFORE.

GATES: MMM.

O'DONNELL: AND HE WAS FRIENDS WITH HER DECEASED HUSBAND... GATES: MM.

O'DONNELL: THAT'S HOW THEY KNEW EACH OTHER.

INTERESTING.

GATES: NOT ONLY DID SARAH'S SECOND HUSBAND, YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER JOHN LIVE NEAR SARAH AND DENNIS, HE ACTUALLY WITNESSED DENNIS' DEATH.

O'DONNELL: OH MY GOSH.

HE PROBABLY FELT A CERTAIN RESPONSIBILITY, HAVING BEEN THERE AT THE TIME.

GATES: THIS IS LIKE A DICKENS NOVEL.

O'DONNELL: IT IS.

GATES: A MAN SEES A MAN DIE.

THEN HE MARRIES HIS WIFE.

O'DONNELL: YEAH.

GATES: AND RAISES HIS CHILD.

O'DONNELL: THAT'S INCREDIBLE.

GATES: AND THEN... O'DONNELL: AND THEN THEY HAVE MANY CHILDREN TOGETHER.

GATES: AND THEY HAD MANY CHILDREN TOGETHER.

O'DONNELL: WOW.

HMM.

NOW I'M CURIOUS, TOO, IF THAT OBVIOUSLY VERY TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE LED THEM TO SAY IT'S TIME TO LEAVE SCOTLAND.

GATES: MM-HMM.

YEAH.

IT WOULD MAKE ME SAY THAT.

O'DONNELL: OF COURSE.

YEAH.

LET'S PURSUE A DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITY.

LET'S GO TO AMERICA.

GATES: YEAH.

I'M OUTTA HERE.

SHE WOULD SAY, HEY I WENT THROUGH THIS ONCE.

O'DONNELL: YES.

GATES: I'M NOT INTERESTED IN BEING A WIDOW AGAIN.

O'DONNELL: THAT'S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.

GATES: MM-HMM.

O'DONNELL: THAT'S WHAT MOST WOMEN WOULD SAY.

I DON'T WANT TO SEE A SECOND HUSBAND DIE IN THE MINES.

GATES: RIGHT.

O'DONNELL: IT'S AMAZING.

I FEEL LIKE I'D HEARD SOMETHING ABOUT SARAH IN THE PAST, ABOUT WHAT SHE DID LATER IN HER LIFE BUT, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T KNOW THIS ABOUT MY RELATIVES, I HAD NO IDEA AND MY PARENTS DIDN'T EITHER, IT WAS JUST KIND OF STORIES THAT WEREN'T WRITTEN DOWN ANYWHERE, SO IT'S INCREDIBLE TO LEARN THIS.

GATES: WE'D ALREADY INTRODUCED ZAC POSEN TO HIS PATERNAL GREAT-GRANDFATHER, MEYER POSEN, A SHOEMAKER WHO CAME TO AMERICA AND PLANTED ROOTS IN ST LOUIS.

NOW, TURNING TO HIS MOTHER'S FAMILY, WE FOUND A PARALLEL STORY...

IT BEGAN WITH ZAC'S GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER, JACOB ORZECHOWICZ, AND A DOCUMENT THAT WOULD COMPLETELY ALTER HIS LIFE.

THIS IS FROM THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES IN WASHINGTON.

POSEN: WOW.

GATES: THIS IS YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER'S DECLARATION OF HIS INTENTION TO BECOME A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

POSEN: WOW.

THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE.

THAT IS CRAZY.

GATES: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO SEE THAT?

THIS IS HOW THIS PART OF YOUR FAMILY BECAME AMERICANS.

POSEN: YEAH.

GATES: AND IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY, YOU WILL SEE THAT JACOB LEFT AN "X" AS A MARK ON THE DOCUMENT.

POSEN: YEAH.

WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?

GATES: BECAUSE HE COULDN'T WRITE ENGLISH, SO HE HAD TO SIGN WITH AN "X" AS YOU'VE SEEN IN MOVIES.

POSEN: YEAH.

GATES: THINK OF THAT ZAC, JUST THREE GENERATIONS BEFORE YOUR MOM, A LAWYER, HER ANCESTORS CAME TO THIS COUNTRY NOT KNOWING HOW TO READ OR WRITE ENGLISH.

THAT IS AN INCREDIBLE TRANSFORMATION.

POSEN: YEAH.

TOTALLY WILD.

GATES: WE SOON DISCOVERED THAT JACOB HAD MUCH IN COMMON WITH ZAC'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER, MEYER THE SHOEMAKER... LIKE MEYER, JACOB WAS JEWISH.

AND HAD MIGRATED WITH HIS FAMILY FROM THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE.

WHAT'S MORE, IN THE 1905 CENSUS FOR BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, WE SAW THAT JACOB AND MEYER HAD SIMILAR OCCUPATIONS.

POSEN: HE WAS A TAILOR.

(LAUGHS).

GATES: JACOB WAS A TAILOR.

YOU HAVE TAILORS IN YOUR FAMILY TREE.

POSEN: YEAH.

I KNEW I'D END UP AT BROOKS BROTHERS.

GATES: YEAH.

BUT LOOK AT THIS, WHAT'S IT LIKE TO KNOW THAT YOUR ANCESTORS ON BOTH SIDES OF YOUR TREE WERE NOT ONLY ARTISANS, BUT ALSO IN THE CLOTHING INDUSTRY JUST LIKE YOU?

POSEN: I LIKE THAT ANCIENT HERITAGE.

GATES: WHEN THIS CENSUS WAS RECORDED, NEW YORK WAS THE CENTER OF AMERICA'S GARMENT INDUSTRY, AND THAT INDUSTRY WAS DOMINATED BY THE CITY'S IMMIGRANT JEWISH POPULATION...

INDEED, BY 1910, ALMOST 70% OF ALL THE TAILORS IN NEW YORK CITY WERE JEWISH, AND THAT WASN'T A COINCIDENCE.

IT GOES BACK TO THE REASON SO MANY JEWISH PEOPLE WERE SHOEMAKERS IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE, REMEMBER AS WE SAW ON YOUR FATHER'S SIDE.

POSEN: YES.

GATES: RUSSIA SEVERELY RESTRICTED ITS JEWISH POPULATIONS' CAREER CHOICES.

POSEN: RIGHT.

GATES: SO THEY LEARNED THE CRAFTS, THE ARTS TO SURVIVE.

POSEN: YEAH.

GOT IT.

SO THEY BROUGHT THAT WITH THEM FROM THE OLD COUNTRY.

GATES: WE WANTED TO SEE IF WE COULD LEARN ANYTHING MORE ABOUT ZAC'S FAMILY BY TRACING THEM BACK TO WHEREVER IT WAS IN THE "OLD COUNTRY" THAT JACOB THAT HAD LIVED.

UNFORTUNATELY, THE CENSUS DIDN'T TELL US ANYTHING MORE THAN THAT HE WAS FROM RUSSIA, AND JACOB'S ARRIVAL RECORDS HAVE BEEN LOST.

SO IT SEEMED LIKE WE'D HIT A DEAD END.

BUT THEN WE FOUND THE MANIFEST FOR THE SHIP THAT BROUGHT JACOB'S SISTER TO AMERICA.

IT INDICATED THAT HIS ANCESTORS HAD LIVED IN A TOWN IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE CALLED ZYCHLIN.

SEARCHING FOR RECORDS OF THE TOWN, WE FOUND ZAC'S 3RD GREAT GRANDPARENTS, DAWID AND ESTHER ORZAHOVIC, AND THIS LED US TO A POWERFUL DISCOVERY.

POSEN: WHOA.

GATES: THIS IS A PAGE TAKEN FROM THE ZYCHLIN RESIDENTS BOOK.

POSEN: HOLY MOLY.

GATES: FOR THE YEAR 1870.

THOSE ARE YOUR GREAT-GREAT- GREAT-GRANDPARENTS.

DAWID WAS A TAILOR, A TRADE HE LIKELY LEARNED FROM HIS FATHER AND THEN PASSED DOWN TO HIS SON, YOUR 2ND GREAT-GRANDFATHER, JACOB.

THERE'S A TREMENDOUS LEGACY OF CRAFTSMANSHIP.

POSEN: UNBELIEVABLE.

IT'S POWERFUL, IT'S POWERFUL STUFF.

I REFLECT ON EVOLUTION AND PROGRESS AND HOW FAR MY FAMILY CAME, SO MANY OTHER FAMILIES.

I MEAN I'M AMAZED THAT YOU FOUND THAT.

GATES: WE WERE, TOO.

POSEN: YOU WERE TOO, OKAY.

I MEAN SO MUCH OF HISTORY GETS ERASED.

GATES: IT DOES.

POSEN: AND I THINK, OBVIOUSLY GENETICS DON'T.

GATES: YEAH.

BUT WHAT'S IRONIC ABOUT YOU IS THAT YOU WEREN'T FORCED TO DO IT.

POSEN: NO.

GATES: YOU HAD THE WHOLE HORIZON OUT THERE TO CHOOSE FROM.

POSEN: YEAH.

GATES: AND YOU TOOK THE THING YOUR FAMILY HAD DONE TO SURVIVE AND MADE IT INTO AN ART FORM.

POSEN: THAT'S BEAUTIFUL.

GATES: YOU DID IT.

POSEN: THANK YOU.

GATES: AND YOU'VE DONE A BEAUTIFUL THING.

POSEN: THANKS.

GATES: YOUR ANCESTORS WOULD BE PROUD.

POSEN: THANK YOU.

GATES: THE PAPER TRAIL HAD NOW RUN OUT FOR ALL THREE OF MY GUESTS.

IT WAS TIME TO SEE WHAT DNA COULD TELL US ABOUT THEIR DEEPER ROOTS.

WE BEGAN WITH AN ADMIXTURE TEST, WHICH REVEALS A PERSON'S ANCESTRY OVER APPROXIMATELY THE LAST 500 YEARS, BROKEN DOWN INTO PERCENTAGES BASED ON THE BROAD REGIONS WHERE THEIR ANCESTORS ONCE LIVED.

FOR EACH GUEST, THE RESULTS MIRRORED WHAT WE'D ALREADY LEARNED.

PELOSI: 95% ITALIAN.

GATES: 95% ITALIAN.

YOU'RE DEFINITELY THE MOST ITALIAN GUEST THAT WE'VE EVER HAD.

PELOSI: THAT'S AN IMPORTANT THING.

POSEN: WOW.

GATES: FOR THE LAST 500 YEARS ALL OF YOUR ANCESTORS HAVE BEEN ASHKENAZI JEWS.

POSEN: WOW.

THAT'S INCREDIBLE.

GATES: 100% EUROPEAN.

ALL OF YOUR ANCESTORS OVER THE LAST HALF A MILLENNIUM LIVED IN IRELAND OR SCOTLAND.

O'DONNELL: PRETTY INCREDIBLE.

GATES: BUT THERE WAS, HOWEVER, ONE SURPRISE STILL TO COME.

WHEN WE COMPARED OUR GUESTS' DNA, TO THE DNA OF OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE TESTED OVER THE COURSE OF THIS SERIES, WE FOUND A SIGNIFICANT MATCH FOR NORAH, EVIDENCE WITHIN HER OWN CHROMOSOMES OF A RELATIVE SHE COULD NOT POSSIBLY KNOW SHE HAD, A RELATIVE WHOSE IDENTITY ASTONISHED EVEN ME.

NOW, THIS PERSON WAS NOT A GUEST ON THE SHOW BUT HE IS RELATED TO SOMEONE WHO'S BEEN ON THE SHOW.

O'DONNELL: OKAY.

GATES: AND, I WANT YOU TO TURN THE PAGE TO MEET HIM.

ANY IDEA WHO THAT PERSON IS?

O'DONNELL: NO.

GATES: DOES HE LOOK LIKE ANYBODY THAT YOU'VE EVER SEEN?

O'DONNELL: KIND OF.

GATES: HE'S SOMEONE'S FATHER.

O'DONNELL: I DON'T KNOW.

GATES: HE'S MY FATHER.

O'DONNELL: STOP.

GATES: THAT IS HENRY LOUIS GATES, SR. O'DONNELL: STOP.

GATES: THAT IS MY FATHER, AND YOU AND MY FATHER ARE DNA COUSINS.

MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER WAS AN IRISHMAN.

MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER ON MY FATHER'S SIDE.

MY FATHER AND I HAVE THE UÍ NÉILL HAPLOTYPE IN OUR Y-DNA.

MY FATHER WAS IN THE SHOW, BUT... (LAUGHS).

O'DONNELL: THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE.

GATES: IT'S UNBELIEVABLE.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT MYSELF.

O'DONNELL: WELL, WE'RE FAMILY.

GATES: WE'RE FAMILY.

O'DONNELL: I LOVE IT.

THANK YOU!

COUSIN!

GATES: COUSIN!

(LAUGHS).

NORAH SHARES AN IDENTICAL STRETCH OF DNA ALONG HER 14TH CHROMOSOME WITH HENRY LOUIS GATES, SR. A POWERFUL DEMONSTRATION OF HOW OUR DNA CAN BRIDGE THE DIVIDE THAT APPEARS TO EXIST BETWEEN PEOPLE OF COMPLETELY DIVERSE ORIGINS.

PROVIDING A METAPHOR, OF SORTS, FOR THE HISTORY OF OUR ENTIRE NATION, AND A SOURCE OF OUR COUNTRY'S GREATNESS.

THAT'S THE END OF OUR JOURNEY WITH NANCY, ZAC, AND NORAH.

JOIN ME NEXT TIME WHEN WE UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF THE PAST FOR NEW GUESTS ON ANOTHER EPISODE OF FINDING YOUR ROOTS.